Primigravida
by mrytale2-5
Summary: a casefic, with Morgan heading back to Chicago and Emily dealing with some old feelings, no pairings just all of the team dealing with an intriguing and difficult case. Rated T but will be a dark tale intersperced with light hearted team bonding.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - As ever I don't own anything, this is a casefic that will hopefully bring out all your favourite parts of all the characters, not pairings just team friendship and an intriguing tale that will probably be updated weekly.**

Chapter 1 –

Morgan felt shattered as he walked over to help himself to a much needed cup of coffee, he knew that last night had been a mistake but he had failed to resist the urge of a beautiful woman as he had carried on dancing until the early hours. Unfortunately it was now 8:45am and Morgan was paying the price. Slowly he filled up his mug and looked across at the bullpen, Reid had only been in for fifteen minutes and had already gone through a quarter of his paperwork. Smiling Morgan took a sip of his coffee and looked at Emily who had just walked in and looked dejectedly at the immense pile of paperwork on her desk. Morgan rubbed his head with his free hand, now regretting the decision last night, it was going to be a long day sorting through paperwork in the office. Morgan was suddenly shaken from his thoughts as his cell began to ring, quickly he placed the mug on the side and unclipped the phone from his belt, he instantly recognised the area code as he answered worriedly.

"SSA Morgan."

"Derek it's Matt Birt, have you got a minute?"

"Of course Matt, are the girls ok?"

Morgan frowned as he spoke to the Chicago detective he had once worked with, the first thoughts that ran through his head were of the welfare of his mother and sisters.

"They're fine Derek, it's something else, I've got a case...I think I need your help."

Morgan had instinctively let out a puff of air when he heard that his family were ok, he picked up his coffee and started to walk over to his desk.

"Ok Matt, what have you got?"

"13 year old Chloe Dixon was reported missing by her mother two days ago. Her father worked out of the 4th District, until 3 years ago when he was shot dead by the local drug dealer who he had stopped for a traffic violation. The girl is a good kid but has recently started to get in a bit of trouble, the mother thinks that she may have been involved with drugs but the school and her friends refute this but what the friends did say was that Chloe thought she was pregnant and was going to a local clinic to arrange an abortion."

Morgan reached for his pen as he listened to his old friend, so far there was nothing that he had heard that would warrant the BAU's intervention.

"I've gone round all the local clinics and found the one where Chloe had an appointment, they haven't told me much apart from the fact that she didn't turn up. I've got some CCTV footage of Chloe outside the clinic where she stops to talk to a woman and then disappears."

"But so far Matt nothing that I can help you with."

"A body turned up this morning Derek...it wasn't Chloe but of another teenage girl, ME said that she had recently given birth."

"Any signs of the baby?"

"Not yet and we're working on trying to get an ID on the girl but I've got this feeling Derek..."

"Ok Matt, fax me over the details and I'll discuss them with my boss but I'm not guaranteeing anything."

"That's all I'm asking for Derek, thanks."

"No worries Matt, I'll get back to you soon."

Morgan put the phone on his desk and leaned back in his chair, he could feel Emily's eyes focusing on him so he swivelled around in his chair and looked straight into her hazelnut brown eyes.

"Everything ok Morgan?"

Morgan puffed out his cheeks and arched his back forward so that his eyes changed his focus to the carpeted floor.

"A detective buddy of mine from Chicago wants me to look at a case for him, it doesn't look like much."

"But..."

Morgan shrugged his shoulders and got up to take the short walk as he heard the fax machine finish spewing out the paper. Quickly Morgan grabbed the paper up and took them back over to his desk where Emily had now positioned her chair and was sitting waiting for him.

"What have we got then?"

Morgan smiled as he sat down next to his friend and colleague, both of them instantly concentrating on the papers in front of them.

* * *

Chloe sat in the corner of the dark confined room, she had cried so much the last two days that she didn't think that she had any more tears to shed. Chloe had positioned herself on the mattress, sitting on the end furthest from the door, the bucket they had left in the room was full of vomit as the fear of the situation Chloe had found herself in had overcome the young teenager. Chloe had not spoken to either of them since the woman had approached her outside the clinic, asking Chloe to help her change a flat tyre, the next thing Chloe knew was that she had been hit on the head and bundled into the back of a vehicle. Chloe rested her head on her knees and felt the tears begin to trickle down her face once again, praying that her mother would think to look for her. Chloe knew that she had made a terrible mistake but never did she think that by getting pregnant would land her in this much trouble.

* * *

Morgan put the file on his desk and looked across at Emily who had been scribbling notes down as she read.

"What do you think then?"

"It's definitely worth looking at but you know Hotch will want more details before we take this further. If we can get an ID on the body and then link the two disappearances."

"I'll go and see Garcia."

Emily nodded as she moved her chair back towards her desk and continued to sift through her enormous mound of paperwork.

* * *

Chloe opened her eyes, she had lost all concept of time and was only woken by a sharp pain in her side. Chloe tried to sit up but the pain had become unbearable as she screamed out.

"Somebody help me!"

Chloe put her hands down to her legs as she sobbed uncontrollably, she felt dampness creep across her thighs, she brought her fingers up to her face and she could just about make out what was on them through the darkness.

"Help me please I'm bleeding!"

Chloe curled up tight in the foetal position as the fear and pain took over, her sobbing quickly subsided as she heard the heavily locked door begin to open.

"Please help me I'm bleeding!"

Chloe managed to lift her head up and look at the shadowy figure, the pleading tone evident in her voice, but she couldn't see the gun that was pointed at her as the shot rang out, reverberating loudly in the dark confined room.

* * *

Morgan walked purposefully towards Garcia's office, knocking briefly before he entered.

"Morning babygirl."

"Oh hello to you sweetie, now to what do I owe this wonderful visit from you? Have you given Spencer all your paperwork again Derek Morgan?"

Morgan laughed loudly as Garcia waved her pink feathered topped pen towards him.

"Not guilty...though I haven't had a chance to yet! I need a favour Garcia."

"Oh so formal Derek, is this favour what my heart has desired since we met...that finally you're going to whisk me away from all of this?"

"Sorry babygirl it's your other unique talents that I need to utilise today."

"You hear that Derek? That's the sound of my heart being broken into a million teeny weeny pieces! Now what do you need my hunky technophobe?"

"I need to know if you can track down all information on a Chloe Dixon, aged 13 from Chicago, reportedly taken from outside an abortion clinic. I also need an ID on a body of another teenage girl found in Chicago who had recently given birth."

"Say no more, leave me the details and I'll work my magic."

"You're the greatest babygirl!"

"I know I know...now scoot and let me work!"

Morgan chuckled to himself as he left Garcia's office, knowing that there was little he could do now until Garcia found something for him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – **

Garcia quickly typed in the parameters and let her 'babies' do their work, scouring not just the internet but the hundreds of police databases and government databases that she did not necessarily have the authority to access. Tapping her pen on the pink post-it notepad in front of her, Garcia was impatiently waiting for the results, knowing that Derek wouldn't ask her for something unless he thought it was worthwhile. Hearing a knock at the door Garcia quickly responded.

"I know I'm good my chocolate cupcake...but I'm not that good!"

JJ raised an eyebrow as she entered, waiting for her good friend to turn around but when she failed to do so JJ decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Chocolate cupcake...well I haven't heard that one before!"

JJ laughed as she moved closer to her brightly clothed friend.

"Oh JJ, my beautiful blonde friend, you took me by surprise! What can I do for you sweetie?"

"I think it's more about what you can do for me Pen...what are you up to?"

JJ's piercing blue eyes immediately focused on the numerous computer screens in front of Garcia as they started to bring up various pieces of information.

"Oh hang on, I've got to check this out!"

Garcia squealed as she quickly typed, bringing the information into one screen and sifting through it all before letting out a large gasp of air and swivelled around in her chair to face her friend.

"I think you need to get the team together..."

JJ looked curiously at Garcia, moving closer so that eventually her hands rested on the analyst's shoulders.

"Don't you think that you should give me an idea of what's going on first?"

Garcia was hitting numbers on her phone as JJ spoke.

"Hey babygirl."

"You, me, the team, conference room...now!"

Garcia turned around and put her hands on top of JJ's.

"Derek asked me to look into something for him, as a favour...from what I've just found out it's a bigger problem than any of us thought."

Garcia squeezed JJ's hands as she grabbed a memory stick from one of CPU's and stood up following an anxious JJ out of her office and towards the conference room.

* * *

Morgan clipped his cell back onto his belt, grabbing the faxed file he stood up and looked at Emily who nodded and followed suit by standing up. Morgan frowned as he turned and looked at Reid who was still busy quickly sifting through his backlog of paperwork.

"Hey Reid..."

Morgan stopped and waited until Reid looked up at him, waving the file and pointing up to the conference room.

"Oh...ok now coming!"

Reid tucked a few straggly bits of hair behind his left ear and grabbed his tatty brown leather bag as his long skinny legs quickly ran after Prentiss and Morgan who had just been joined by JJ and Garcia striding purposefully up the stairs. Hotch saw the majority of his team walking up the stairs, raising an eyebrow in curiosity and waited for JJ to stick her head around his door.

"Morgan's got a case for us."

Hotch just nodded as he closed the file he had been working on and grabbed his pen and a yellow legal pad and quickly followed the others into the conference room where Dave had also joined them, aware of come commotion coming up the stairs.

"Sorry about this everyone but I had a phone call from a friend this morning, Detective Matt Birt from Chicago , a teenage girl on her way to get an abortion vanished and a body of another teenage girl who had recently given birth has been found."

Morgan finished speaking and looked at Garcia who stood up and walked over to the large screen in the room and plugged in her memory stick.

"I did a search around the Chicago area to start with and then expanded it state-wide. What I found is that there have been fifteen teenage girls killed in the last ten years, all of who had recently given birth, another seven teenage girls had been reported missing in the last six years, all of these were thought to be pregnant…four of them were on their way to an abortion clinic at the time of their disappearance."

Morgan rubbed his head as he looked at Hotch as he scribbled some notes down.

"Ok JJ can you sort out the invite for us to go to Chicago?"

JJ nodded as she got out her phone, standing up to leave the room so that she could make the call in private.

"Wheels up in thirty minutes."

Hotch nodded as he stood up turning to Morgan.

"Get us all a copy of that file Morgan and Garcia we need everything you've got as well."

"Of course Boss man, I'll send it over to you straight away."

Garcia quickly extracted her memory stick from the screen and gathered her composure as she walked out of the conference room, back towards the comfort of her dark room and her computers. Hotch soon followed her out of the room with Morgan behind him, leaving Emily and Rossi sat at the table. Emily could feel Dave's focus on her as she turned to face him, ensuring that they were alone in the room before she spoke.

"I'm fine Dave!"

"I didn't say anything!"

"But you were thinking it…pregnant teenage girls who decide to get an abortion…yes that was me Dave but that was a long time ago."

"Just want to let you know if you need to speak to anyone…"

"Thanks Dave, come on we've got a plane to catch."

* * *

He walked into the dark room but could instantly make out the pool of blood that was on the floor. Cursing as he walked over to the cold body he grabbed the white dust sheet that had been on top of the dirty mattress and started to wrap the body in it.

"What are you doing?"

He jumped slightly at the sound on the familiar voice.

"Cleaning up your mess…as usual. What happened?"

"She was having a miscarriage, she was of no use, she was dirty…contaminated."

He nodded as he picked up the girl, noticing how light she was.

"Make sure you dump her properly."

"Yes, of course."

He knew the rules, the ones that ended up like this were supposed to be found, the message sent out loud and clear, and as ever God was on their side, they were doing the work of the righteous, that is why nobody had stopped them yet.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 –

JJ had just finished talking to the Chief of Detectives at Chicago, the team had now received the official invite into the case and the team were all getting ready to meet at the jet but before that JJ needed to go somewhere...quite desperately.

"Hi Em!"

JJ quickly ran in an empty stall, her bladder almost at bursting point, she only had time to shout out at her friend. It didn't take long for JJ to finish up and she walked out to wash her hands, surprised to see Emily still there staring down at the basin.

"Umm...is everything ok Emily?"

Emily had come into the restroom to gather her thoughts before they headed out to Chicago, she needed to ensure that everything was compartmentalised, what she hadn't anticipated was being disturbed by her good friend.

"Uh...yeah...sure JJ. Come on we're going to be late."

Emily forced a smile, an action that didn't go unnoticed by JJ but she knew that now wasn't the time to push.

"Ok well if there's anything...at anytime Em..."

JJ turned and smiled at her tall friend who walked towards her, placing a comforting hand on her right shoulder.

"Thanks JJ I know, just not now ok?"

JJ nodded and followed the older agent out of the toilets and back to their respective desks to retrieve their bags and head towards the jet and meet with the rest of the team.

* * *

It was getting dark as he threw the occupied sheet into the trunk of his station wagon. Nodding to her as he heavily sat in the driver's seat and began to drive out of the wilderness, following the stream of lights towards the city. The two of them had sat at the kitchen table, a street map of Chicago spread out on top of the plastic blue and white checked table cloth. He had listened obediently to her, he always had for as long as he could remember, and when her wrinkly, scrawny index finger rested on the Lake View Presbyterian Church on West Addison Street, he knew where he would be heading that evening. So here he was, thirty minutes later, checking his mirrors carefully so that his presence wasn't too obvious as he stopped. Although he had done this 'job' before, it still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the adrenalin rush of dumping the body in such a public place coursed around his body. He knew why she had picked this one...neither of them had been there before and there was a service due to take place first thing in the morning, meaning that she could be discovered and put to rest soon. Checking once again that it was safe he walked around and opened the trunk, throwing the dead weight over his right shoulder and walked purposefully towards the steps. He stopped briefly halfway up and laid her down horizontally on the step, carefully pulling back the sheet around her eyes as he crossed her hands over her chest before finally laying a necklace between her fingers. As he stood up he whispered a quiet prayer before venturing back to the safety of the station wagon and the roads home.

* * *

Morgan rubbed his chin, hard, his head was starting to pound from the lack of sleep and partying from the night before and then combined with the thoughts of the menace that was praying upon his home town. Closing his eyes Morgan stretched out his arms around the back of his head, trying hard to find a moment of peace before heading into the chaos that would greet them when they landed.

Hotch glanced across the aisle and saw the slight anguish on the Chicago native, frowning slightly Hotch turned back to his companion sitting opposite.

"Do you think he's ok?"

Dave raised his eyes from the file he was reading and looked first at Hotch before glancing around the rest of the jet.

"It's always tough going to a case at home, but this is not going to be easy on any of us."

Dave rested his head back against the seat and subconsciously let his gaze wander over to Emily who was sat talking to Spencer.

"What are your thoughts Dave? You were quiet earlier."

Hotch leant forward as Dave picked up his small notepad and threw it over to Hotch.

"If Garcia is right, and she normally is, then this unsub has been operating for ten years, preying on young pregnant girls, but do you want to know what is really bothering me?"

Dave leant forward as he watched Hotch pass the notepad back to him, both men unaware of the other agent approaching them.

"What's happening to the babies?"

JJ slipped into the seat next to Dave smiling as she placed a mound of files onto the table.

"Exactly JJ, are they keeping them...selling them...killing them?"

"That's a question that is going to be crucial to solving this case, in the mean time I'll get Garcia to do some digging."

Hotch reached for his cell and relayed the information he needed Garcia to search for.

"Well we're going to land soon, when we do Morgan and Dave can head to the morgue and see what the ME says about the latest body. Reid can look at the geographical profile, JJ can you start with victimolgy whilst Prentiss and I will go and see Chloe Dixon's mother."

Hotch looked at JJ and Rossi who nodded in acknowledgement, both silently hoping that they wouldn't be at their destination for too long.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N – sorry for the slow update on this story, it's a bit of a heavy storyline that kind of takes it out of me, plus writing time has been limited lately, so hope that people are still interested in the story.

**Chapter 4 – **

Fifteen minutes later the plane touched down at Chicago, Morgan was first off the plane eager to smell the familiar air and see his favourite skyline, though the sight of Detective Birt waiting for them soon brought back the reasons for his visit.

"Hey Matt, good of you to meet us, how are you?"

The older Detective smiled as he accepted Morgan's hand, shaking firmly and allowing himself a small smile before he had to break further bad news to the FBI.

"Thanks for coming Morgan...and the rest of you. I'm afraid we found the body of a teenage girl about an hour ago, it is believed to be Chloe Dixon."

The team look at each other, a look of sadness across their faces as they took in the news but quickly it was absorbed and Hotch processed some new instructions.

"JJ and Prentiss can you track down the families of the last two victims and speak to them, Morgan and Dave you go with Detective Birt to the latest crime scene whilst Reid and I will start to work on victimology."

The team nods in reply as they walk towards the three black SUVs that JJ had arranged through the local FBI office to be waiting for them, JJ was already on her cell talking to her favourite technical analyst.

"Why hello there my little blonde multi-tasker, now what can the little fluffy collector do for you?"

"Hey Garcia, I need the details of the last two families that you have tied in to this unsub."

"Okey dokey, one minute sweetie."

JJ smiled as she climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV and looked at Emily who was waiting patiently for the information.

"Right here we go, are you ready JJ?"

"As ever Pen."

"The last body was identified as Joanna Gresham, 15 years old, and six months earlier Kirsty Wheldon, 17 years old was found dead the post-mortem showed that she had given birth about a month earlier. I'll email you the parent's current addresses."

"Thanks Garcia."

JJ hang up and waited for a couple of seconds until her cell beeped containing the information needed as she reaches over to the SUVs satellite navigation system to set the direction to Joanna Gresham's parents house.

* * *

Rossi instinctively got into the passenger seat, letting Morgan drive the familiar streets as Detective Birt climbed into the back.

"So how does it feel to be back Derek?"

Morgan turned to face Rossi, a deep frown visible on his face.

"It's never nice to come back for a case, I tend to take it personally when unsubs target my home town."

"I get that Derek, maybe once this is all over you can take me out and show me around, you know the sights and everything?"

"Oh Dave don't you ever stop thinking about what's in your pants?"

Morgan laughed as he drove towards the centre of Chicago and the road that his friend Matt Birt had directed him to.

"Hell no Derek, that's why I have three failed marriages!"

Morgan laughed as he pulled into the street, instantly seeing the police vehicles parked along the right hand side of the road, he pulled in behind the last one. Morgan was the first out of the vehicle and raised his eyes further up the road towards the crime scene tape, he turns to look at Dave who was standing beside him and shakes his head, neither of them knew that the body had been found at a church.

"Could this get any worse Rossi?"

"Don't go there Morgan."

The two of them shake their heads as they walk solemnly up towards the church step where the body was found.

* * *

JJ followed Emily out of the house, virtually running in order to keep up with the older agent as she shouted in a loud whisper.

"Emily!"

JJ cursed under her breath as Emily carried on towards the SUV, completely ignoring her as she climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the door behind her. Emily started the engine and drummed her fingers loudly on the wheel as she waited for JJ to join her. JJ climbed into the passenger seat frowning at her friend.

"Emily?"

JJ stopped as she saw a single tear escape from Emily's eye and decided to leave it, knowing that Emily would speak when she was ready, and if she pushed her friend the opposite would happen and she would never find out what was bothering Emily. Instead JJ reached over and switched the GPS on and programmed the next coordinates in and sat back in the seat as Emily drove off, fast.

It didn't take more than fifteen minutes for Emily to drive to the next house, she stopped in the driveway and turned off the engine but kept her hands clasped tight around the steering wheel as she looked out of the window towards the house.

"Sorry JJ, I was too harsh before."

"It's ok Em, do you want me to take the lead on this one?"

Emily didn't reply she just slowly nodded her head as she climbed out of the car and followed JJ up towards the house.

* * *

Morgan lead the way as they walked down towards the morgue, finding the ME finishing up the examination of Chloe Dixon.

"Hello agents, I expect you would like some answers?"

Morgan looked at Dave, he did not want to take the lead on this one and the older agent kindly obliged.

"Yes please Doctor."

"Your victim was shot, once in the chest. But the interesting fact for you may well be that she had suffered a miscarriage shortly before she was killed."

"Thanks Doctor if you could send over your report that would be great."

Rossi shook the ME's hand before following Morgan out of the morgue, both of their minds whirring as they made their way back to meet up with the rest of the team.

* * *

Emily sighed heavily as she sat back in the driver's seat of the SUV, forgetting that she wasn't alone in the car, she banged her head against the steering wheel, JJ reached across and placed a hand on Emily's back rubbing it softly as she felt Emily breathing heavily trying to regain her composure, her voice was muffled by her hands as she spoke.

"They really didn't care...they didn't have a clue...they didn't bother looking...they didn't even ask about the baby!"

"I know Em."

JJ stopped and moved her hand as Emily sat up and looked at JJ, her eyes slightly red.

"They remind me of me when I was growing up, busy career parent's, you find yourself alone with nobody to turn to when you're in trouble."

Emily stopped as she realised that she was revealing too much, biting her bottom lip she blinked her eyes and smiled softly at JJ.

"Sorry, I'm just tired."

"Please Em, don't apologise, you know me better than that."

"Come on JJ we've got to get back to the others."

Emily started to pull out of the drive blinking as she cleared the moisture away from her eyes.

"I know Emily, do you think they'll take another one now that Chloe is dead?"

"Probably, and one thing I do know is that there won't be a shortage of vulnerable girls for them to choose from."


	5. Chapter 5

**/N – wow I really did neglect this story, sorry about that. This is a heavy story to write but I will finish it, also don't forget...**

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* * *

Chapter 5 –

The team all gathered in the room they had been allocated at the police station, cups of coffee were eagerly distributed between everyone as they sat down for the first time since they had landed.

"The ME found something rather interesting, apparently Chloe Dixon suffered a miscarriage before she was shot, she died because of a single gunshot wound to the chest."

Morgan stopped and took a sip of his coffee, looking around at the table and was unsurprised to see the others reading the file.

"Maybe that is why they killed her, because of her miscarriage. The body was dumped in front of a church, the girls taken from abortion clinics, this has definite religious connotations and we may be dealing with more than one unsub."

Rossi spoke calmly, looking down at the file as he spoke, he didn't want to raise his eyes as he knew that he would be drawn to look at Emily.

"Dave may be right, I'll get Garcia to look into any religious groups that have been actively targeting the clinics. We may be looking at a husband and wife partnership, they may be looking to 'save' these unborn children, disposing of the mother's once they have given birth. We need to find out what they are doing with the children, if they are keeping them they will need plenty of space, Reid you look into that. JJ and Prentiss I want you to go to the clinic where Chloe Dixon was heading to, do some discreet surveillance and see what you can find out, if there is anyone suspicious or if they have been targeted lately."

Emily nodded reluctantly as Hotch spoke, she knew that her and JJ were the obvious choices for the assignment, if they needed to speak to women approaching the clinic they would be more at ease speaking to the two female agents. JJ frowned as she saw the look in Emily's eyes but decided against saying anything, instead she followed her friend out of the room and in silence as the two of them started to drive to their destination.

* * *

He knew that she was angry, they had lost one, and not through the way that the normally did things. One of the babies was crying and although he tried to blank out the noise the incessant whining got the better of him as he eventually walked through into the dirty room, searching the rows of cots until he found the one. He rarely ventured in here, it was her domain, that was when he knew that he had failed her, when she refused to come in and see to her children. He picked up the baby, cradling it carefully as it stopped crying and snuggled into his body, he knew that if he put it back down again it would only start making that spine tingling noise again so he accepted his fate and walked out of the room, still carrying the baby. He headed to down the stairs, he kept on going until he reached the darkness where he knew she was cowering. He flicked on the light and saw her studying the photos.

"It's hungry."

"Well you feed it then I'm busy."

He nodded as he watched her bony fingers flick through the photos, examining each figure carefully, checking for height, weight and age. He knew that she would be more careful this time, unwilling to lose another one like the last.

* * *

Emily sat in the car, her hands wrapped around the steering wheel as she stared out of the windscreen, it had been two hours since they had started and nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far, apart from the eerie silence between the two women.

"There goes a likely candidate."

Emily nodded as JJ pointed to the teenage girl walking nervously along the sidewalk, her head bowed down she tried to avoid eye contact with anybody else but as she neared the entrance to the clinic they saw a middle aged man walking towards her.

"Hello what's this?"

"It might be nothing, we can't go yet."

"I know Em, we sit tight...hang on!"

JJ suddenly sat up as she saw the man walk into the girl, almost knocking her to the floor before he shoved something into her body, causing her to yell out in pain.

"Emily?"

JJ looked at her friend but Emily was already opening her door, JJ followed suit as they ran towards the man, Emily quickly pulling him off and shoving him hard down on the pavement.

"Are you ok?"

Emily looked up at the teenager who had a few tears rolling down her face, she nodded in reply as JJ arrived and put her hand on the girl's arm before she reached into her pocket and brought out her cell.

"I'll call Hotch."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N - many thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and alerted this story

Chapter 6 –

Emily kept the man pinned to the ground as she heard Morgan approaching, turning her head slightly she nodded at him as he reached down and helped her to drag the man up.

"You're under arrest!"

"What for?"

The scared look on the man's face puzzled Emily as she watched Morgan roughly bundle the man into the back of his SUV.

"We'll start with the assault on her and take it from there."

Emily's voice portrayed the anger she was feeling as she stood by JJ who was standing next the teenager. Morgan nodded to them as he got in the driver's seat, quickly speeding away from the scene. Emily looked at the girl, bending her head down as the teenager only came up to her shoulder.

"Are you ok, do you need to see a doctor or anything?"

"No I think I'm ok, what was that about?"

Emily looked at the teenager who still clasped something tight in her hand as Emily moved and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you come with us and we'll explain."

The girl looked worried as she glanced around her, her eyes settling on the door to the clinic nearby and JJ immediately noticed her uneasiness.

"It's ok, I'm JJ and this is my friend Emily, we're with the FBI. Don't worry nobody will find out that you've spoken to us and what happened if you don't want them to."

The young teenager looked scared but allowed herself to be lead away from the sidewalk and towards the SUV, keeping quiet as the vehicle started to drive away until Emily broke the silence.

"So what's your name?"

"Zoe."

"Ok then Zoe, how old are you?"

Zoe looked out of the window before she stared at the two women in the front of the vehicle, she wanted to lie but at the last minute decided against it.

"15."

"You were heading to the clinic?"

Emily swallowed hard as she spoke, Zoe was the spitting image of herself all those years ago, she looked lost, scared and vulnerable.

"Yes."

Emily let the words hang in the air as she pulled into the police station, she looked across at JJ who smiled at her and whispered quietly.

"It's ok Em, she'll be fine."

* * *

Hotch was waiting for them as JJ took Zoe quietly aside, quickly finding an empty room for her to sit in, leaving Emily to deal with the questioning Hotch.

"So what happened?"

Emily puffed out her cheeks, taking a deep breath before she started.

"We saw the girl, Zoe, walking towards the clinic, the unsub walked right into her, almost knocking her down as she shoved something against her stomach which caused her to cry out in pain. We didn't have any other option, we had to intervene Hotch."

Emily shook her head as she finished and waited, examining the frown on Hotch's face get deeper.

"Ok you and JJ speak to the girl, Morgan and Rossi are speaking to the guy you flattened. I hate to tell you this Prentiss but I don't think that he is our guy."

"What?"

"It was too obvious, you and JJ saw everything, whereas when the other girls were taken nobody saw a thing."

Emily closed her eyes as she processed what Hotch said and her rational mind knew that he was correct, unfortunately for her Emily was letting emotion dictate her decisions, something that she had never done before.

* * *

Morgan paced around the room as Rossi sat at the table, the file closed in front of him as he observed the man sitting across from him. Finally Morgan sat down, noisily pulling the chair out and making his hands bang on the table, but then he stopped, allowing Rossi to speak first.

"That's some nice literature you had on you. The grammar was spot on, though I do think that the photo was a bit over the top. I can see what you are trying to achieve but these girls, they're easily scared, they don't take nicely to your tactics."

Rossi opened the file and brought out a piece of paper, proclaiming that abortion was murder and if the court of law would not punish them then the court of god would. The man sat silent but Rossi could see that it was only a matter of time before he started to talk, his need to preach his beliefs would be too great.

"This is a waste of time Rossi, hey man do you recognise any of these girls?"

Morgan leant across and grabbed the autopsy photos of the dead girls, slapping them loudly on the table as he watched the man's reaction.

"Oh god are they...? You think I..."

The man turned around and looked away from the photos, shaking his head furiously before he suddenly threw up on the floor.

"Well I think that answers our question Derek, I think we'll just hand this guy over to the locals."

Morgan nodded as he watched Rossi collect the photos and place them back into the file, this was not their guy and Morgan hoped that they hadn't wasted too much time on a dead end.

* * *

Emily walked into the room carrying three bottles of water, she passed one to JJ before she put one on the table in front of the spare chair as she finally smiled and passed the last one over to Zoe as Emily then sat down.

"The man who assaulted you, he pushed something towards your stomach, what was it Zoe?"

Zoe opened the bottle of water and took a sip before she opened her left hand, placing a crumbled piece of paper on the table, failing to stop the tears as they started to gently roll down her cheeks as she watched JJ reach out and take the paper, flattening it out to read it.

"So he didn't try and take you anywhere?"

Emily frowned as she leaned over and read the leaflet, compartmentalising her own feelings as she focused on the girl in front of her.

"No, he just started to recite scripture from the bible at me."

"Ok, I need to show you some photos and ask if you recognise any of them."

Zoe nodded as Emily opened a file and gently presented the photos in front of her.

"No sorry I don't."

"That's ok ."

JJ looked across at Emily and suddenly had a thought.

"How did you decide which clinic to go to? Did you talk to anybody about your decision?"

Emily nodded at JJ's question, they had a chance to get an insight into how Zoe had made her decision and if she allowed them then it may give them a new perspective on the unsub.

"I talked to one of my friends, I couldn't...I can't tell my parents. My friend told me to speak to one of the guidance counsellors at school and she gave me the information about the clinic and helped me to make the appointment."

JJ nodded as she stood up and smiled at Zoe.

"Thanks for your help Zoe. I've got to go and speak to my boss but Emily will make sure that you get home safely."

JJ rested her hand briefly on Emily's shoulder before she walked out of the room, leaving Emily wondering what she was going to say to Zoe.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N –thanks to everyone who is reading, reviewing and alerting this story you give me the impetus to continue also don't forget...** **FINAL VOTING HAS STARTED FOR CM FANFIC AWARDS!**

Calling all CM readers and authors! Join us for our first Profiler's Choice CM Awards on ! Help us choose the best of the best of the CM stories on , and let your voice be heard. Anyone with a account is eligible to vote. Please check out the final voting ballot and rules at Chit Chat on Author's Forum. All rules and information are on the forum.

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Chapter 7 –

Emily smiled as she cleared her throat, waiting until Zoe brought her head up and their eyes met.

"So do you want me to take you home?"

"I guess so."

Zoe shrugged her shoulders as she pushed her chair backwards and stood up.

"It may help to talk to your parents."

Emily stood up and walked around the table, standing beside Zoe as she felt the teenager tense up.

"You don't know my parent's, I can't imagine what they'll do if I can't get this sorted."

"You shouldn't go through this alone Zoe, you need to talk to someone, have someone there to hold your hand, trust me."

Emily sighed as she put her hand on Zoe's shoulder, opening the door she showed the teenager out and they walked silently out of the precinct and down to car park.

* * *

He sat in the driver's seat, parked in a McDonald's car park with his burger and fries sitting on the passenger seat, the file open balanced on the steering wheel, he looked like anybody else taking a working lunch. Although unbeknown to everyone else he had a file that had been copied and given to him by someone who thought they were protecting the girls. He reached across and picked up a handful of fries as he digested the information. She had been decisive in who was going to be next and that after the tragedy of the last one they needed to replace her quickly but he also knew that he couldn't act too quickly and risk alerting the authorities to their mission. He needed to be careful, to do his research, know her vulnerabilities and in front of him he had the vital tool. A smile curled around his lips as he continued to read, he couldn't believe that the girls told their innermost feelings to these adults, they were supposed to guide and help children, instead they were being lead straight to them. He closed the file triumphantly, the woman had even noted the address and time of the appointment she had made for the girl, annotating it with the fact that the teenager would be going on her own.

* * *

JJ walked into the small conference room just as Morgan slammed his hands onto the table, she closed the door and raised an eyebrow as Morgan looked at her.

"He's not our guy, just your everyday scumbag trying to scare the life out of these insecure women."

"That goes with what Zoe said, Emily is now taking her home, but she did also say something that gave me an idea."

"Go on JJ."

Hotch looked at JJ, he trusted her judgement and seeing as they were no further forward anything would be helpful.

"I asked Zoe who she had spoken to about her pregnancy and her plans for getting an abortion. She was exactly like our victims in that her parents knew nothing about her situation, but she did speak to a counsellor at her school that helped her make the appointment at the clinic."

JJ looked at the four men in the room with her, Hotch nodded as Morgan quickly got out his cell but it was Rossi who broke the silence.

"Guidance counsellors? Certainly an aspect that we didn't give any thought, do you think that this is how they are choosing their victims?"

"I'm not the profiler here Dave but you tell a counsellor all your secrets, how you hate your parents, anything and everything. The girls are insecure enough given their predicament, a counsellor is meant to be someone that they can trust."

"Good thinking JJ, Morgan ask Garcia to narrow down the possibilities. Reid and Rossi, how are you coming along with the profile?"

The team quickly busied themselves as JJ sat down and got out her Blackberry that had been vibrating loudly in her pocket. She quickly scanned the messages from various journalists, her mind busy with thoughts of how Emily was coping with not only the case but being alone with Zoe.

* * *

Emily stopped the car away from the house, she didn't want to attract any extra attention to Zoe than she had to. The journey had been in silence, Zoe had sat staring out of the window, turning purposefully away from Emily and Emily had found herself at a loss of what to say but now she knew that she couldn't just let Zoe walk away. Emily reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a business card, holding it out towards Zoe as she spoke.

"Here, please if you need any help, or you just need to talk to someone."

Zoe slowly turned her head and smiled as she took the card.

"Thanks, I guess I'll need to make another appointment."

Emily closed her eyes and made a decision to be frank with the teenager.

"Just make sure that it is what you want Zoe, don't do it just because you are scared of what your parent's may think, there are plenty of other people around to support you."

"It sounds like you know."

"You're very perceptive Zoe, yes I was you. Are you going to be ok?"

Zoe nodded her head as she pocketed the card into her jeans.

"Thanks for looking out for me today, I was nervous enough with that creep approaching me."

"That's ok, just be careful and make sure that you don't go to the clinic alone, if needs be call me and I'll come along with you."

Zoe smiled as she opened the door and climbed out of the SUV, waving her hand briefly before she turned and walked towards her home. Emily started the engine and prepared to drive back when her cell began to ring, she looked at the display and quickly answered it when she saw that it was JJ who was calling her.

"Emily are you alone?"

"Yes JJ I just dropped Zoe off."

"We need you back here, we've got something."

* * *

He laughed as he shut the trunk of the vehicle, it was just too easy. This was the part that he enjoyed, the thrill of it, his heart pumped hard and fast as the adrenalin raced around his body. They were so preoccupied in their own thoughts that they never saw him coming, that was until it was too late. He hadn't been too rough, he had done that once before and her anger had been phenomenal when she saw the bruises on the girl, beating him hard so that his wounds were twice as bad. These were the precious ones, not just one life but two and it was the small unborn one that they were cultivating. He drove away slowly, not wanting to attract any attention as he closed the file that still lay on the passenger seat, it was mission accomplished.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N – Ok so I'm not from the US so don't know entirely how the guidance counsellor system works over there so there may be a few inconsistencies, though I do work in a high school so hopefully it won't be too bad.

* * *

Chapter 8 –

Forty five minutes later he stopped the car, pulling up outside the imposing white wooden house which was far enough away from the road not to be seen, though they had also planted a row of conifer trees to hide their existence even further. He picked up the file as he climbed out of the car, throwing it onto the wood pile that would make a large bonfire later that evening, before he popped open the trunk and carefully lifted up his prize and carried her towards the house and to the woman he referred to as mom.

* * *

Emily felt exhausted as she pulled open the door to the bullpen, the emotional toll that had heaved itself onto her was now manifesting into a physical burden on her body. She quickly spied the rest of the team talking furiously in the conference room and headed straight towards them, she felt JJ's eyes turn to her as she entered the room as JJ whispered quietly to her.

"Did everything go ok with Zoe?"

"Yes thanks, what's going on?"

Emily smiled at JJ who frowned as she saw the tired black shadows underneath her friend's eyes, JJ pointed at the files on the table as she spoke.

"Remember when Zoe said that she had spoken to a guidance counsellor?"

JJ paused as she watched Emily nod before Morgan turned around and passed Emily a cup of coffee.

"Well we got Garcia to check the other victims and they all had different counsellors but..."

"All the counsellors phoned the same number a day after speaking to each victim. Garcia is running the number as we speak."

Emily smiled as Morgan finished off JJ's sentence as she left the room to answer her cell, Emily sat down next to her friend and looked hard at him.

"You look pissed Morgan."

"You look like shit Emily."

The friends laughed softly as they complemented each other, their minds briefly off of the case before Morgan's cell rang loudly, the ring tone announcing to everyone who was on the other end.

"Hey babygirl, speak nicely you're on speaker!"

"Oh so you want me to do groups now?"

Morgan put his head in his hands as Garcia spoke, Rossi was unable to stop the snigger come out of his mouth but as Hotch cleared his throat Garcia knew that it was time to get serious.

"Sorry...right that number you gave me lists to a Doctor Julia Franchetti, who works at Kendall College teaching the school counselling module. I checked out and all of the guidance counsellors attended her lectures or seminars at some point. I have sent her details to you, speak to you all later."

"Thank you Garcia."

Hotch nodded as Morgan finished the call and looked around the room.

"Ok Morgan and Rossi you go and see Doctor Franchetti."

Hotch paused as JJ re-entered the room, the look of despondency on her face told him that it wasn't good news.

"I think we've got another girl missing."

* * *

He went straight down the stairs, heading to the dark room where he placed her on the mattress before he checked that there was water and a bread roll waiting for her when she woke up. Locking the door behind him he heard another set of footsteps approaching him, he felt his heart rate increase slightly as he prepared himself for her voice.

"Were there any complications?"

"No ma'am."

"You were careful?"

"Yes ma'am, no marks, she looks good this one."

"Let's hope so we can't take too many more risks."

He nodded as he walked past her and headed back up the stairs, he wanted to light that bonfire and get rid of the evidence before she had a chance to remind him and take her wrath out on him once again.

* * *

Emily closed her eyes as JJ spoke, she heard Morgan sigh heavily next to her as they waited for JJ to continue.

"I put word out to the clinics in the area about the unsub and asked them to let me know if there were any teenage girls that didn't show up for abortion appointments. One of them just rang me back, Vanessa Rollins didn't turn up for her appointment yesterday, I checked with her school and she hasn't been there for two days."

"Ok Reid and I will go to the school, Emily you go with JJ and speak to the parents."

JJ smiled as she saw Emily's eyes shut once again before she walked over and sat next to her friend as the rest of the team filed out of the room.

"We'd better get going."

"Not so fast Em, the parent's aren't going anywhere and you and I both know that we won't gain anything from the interview, hell they haven't even reported their daughter missing yet."

JJ reached across and placed her hand on Emily's arm.

"Come on Em, I haven't seen you like this before, are you going to tell me what is going on in that head of yours?"

Emily turned around and looked at her friend.

"Haven't you guessed, you were the one that left me with Zoe?"

"You're hurting Emily and I want to help."

Emily sighed as she picked up the picture of Zoe that still lay on the table.

"I was her JJ. You know how much I moved around as a kid, well it wasn't easy having to make friends all the time especially when you had parents like mine. I was fifteen and we lived in Rome, I tried so hard to fit in and let's just say that I tried a little too hard."

Emily paused to take a breath as JJ moved her hand to take a hold of Emily's and squeezed it tight.

"You still blame yourself?"

Emily nodded her head as she swallowed hard fighting to keep the tears at bay.

"Emily you did what you had to do, like Zoe is trying to do, look I know that this case is hitting you hard but I think that you'll come out of it stronger."

"Thanks JJ."

Emily choked the words out as she felt a little easier having unburdened herself.

"Come on then, are you ok to do this?"

"Yes but you can do the questioning, I may not be able to hold my tongue if this goes like the other ones did."

Emily smiled as she watched JJ shake her head before her friend pulled her hand and helped Emily to stand up. All she had to do now was to shake her mind away from the past and concentrate on the current case so that they could catch the unsub.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N – thanks to everyone for persevering with this story, I struggled for ages trying to get this out, thank goodness for the crap weather here in the UK it's given me plenty of writing time!

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Chapter 9 –

Morgan angrily pounded on the door, causing the name plate that adorned to shake violently, he felt Rossi's hand on his shoulder and turned to look at the older man who had a wry smile across his face.

"Give her a minute Derek, we don't want to go into heavy to start with."

"That's easy for you to say Rossi, it's not your city that is being hurt by these people!"

Morgan grimaced as slowly the door opened and a slight woman with grey hair appeared.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Doctor Franchetti?"

"That is the name that is on the door, and you are?"

The doctor kept her hand on the door, refusing to move so that they could enter until Rossi reached in and pulled out his credentials.

"Agents Rossi and Morgan from the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit we'd like to talk to you."

Julia Franchettie moved away and motioned for the two men to enter the room, she closed the door behind her and walked around to sit down at her desk, gesturing for them to sit down opposite her.

"So how can I help the FBI?"

Rossi glanced across at Derek and saw the tension in his face and he knew that he would have to be the one that took the lead.

"We are here investigating the deaths of two teenage girls and the disappearance of another. They are known to have spoken to their school guidance counsellors before they went missing, we have found evidence that these counsellors then contacted you. Any information that you may be able to share with us would be greatly appreciated."

Dave smiled at the doctor, guessing that she was about his age he knew that they couldn't accuse her of anything until they knew a few facts.

"Do you know of my job here? Well I help train these guidance counsellors, they come here for extra seminars and lectures throughout the year, I have offered my number to all of them that have attended one of these classes and if they need to talk anything through or need advice themselves they are free to contact me."

Dave nodded at the doctors comments, it all made sense but at the moment this was the only lead they had and another girl had just gone missing.

"So these counsellors phone you and ask you for advice, do you have any other details about the cases they are talking about?"

"It depends, if needs be they will send me over a copy of the file so I can take a closer look, that way I'm able to gain a further insight and help better."

"Do many of these cases involve teenage pregnancies?"

Rossi leaned forward as he spoke trying to get Doctor Franchetti to look at him rather than Morgan who was sitting impatiently next to him.

"Unfortunately yes Agent Rossi, but we offer the girls all the support we can and I am here for the counsellors when they need advice and to vent their own frustrations. Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you very much. If you think of anything else then please don't hesitate to contact me."

Dave plucked out a card and placed it on the desk before he nodded and stood up, walking over to the door he and Morgan quickly left in silence neither of them breaking it until they reached the safe confines of the SUV.

* * *

"What was that about Dave? Were you too busy trying to get into her pants to think about the case?"

Morgan angrily turned and looked at Rossi as the older agent calmly smiled at him.

"Don't worry Derek she wasn't my type, bit too old and judging by her necklace and the cross on the wall behind her desk she wouldn't like someone who has been married three times before."

"Just tell me we are not ruling her out?"

"Oh not by a long shot but we haven't got anything to bring her in on, how about we get Garcia to track her phone calls and emails, it would be a start if we could find out if the kind doctor received any of the girls files."

"I'll get Garcia on it, and Dave?"

"Don't worry Derek, I've already forgotten about it!"

Rossi smiled as he started the engine, leaving Morgan to phone Garcia and get her to work her magic once again.

* * *

Vanessa opened her eyes, instant panic rushed through her as she looked around the dark room. Her hands reached up and covered her eyes as she tried to remember what had happened, but as the memory came flooding back her hands instinctively covered her abdomen as she realised that she was trapped.

"She's awake."

"I'll go and make her something to eat."

"Remember to make it nutritious and bring the vitamins for her to eat as well."

He nodded as he received his instructions, no matter how many times she had told him she always insisted on addressing him like a child rather than the thirty year old he actually was. He didn't argue though, he knew silence was the better part than valour, instead he walked silently up the stairs and into the kitchen to prepare the girl's meal, the first of many in the months to come, leaving his mother to watch over the girl and make sure she didn't panic and harm herself like the last one had.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N – sorry for the delay in posting life has been getting way ahead of me what with Christmas rapidly approaching and I have just realised how disorganised and unprepared I am! Thank you to everyone who is still reading, reviewing and alerting this story.

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Chapter 10 –

Morgan and Rossi sat silently in the car, neither of them wanted to leave the car park in case Doctor Franchetti made a move. Morgan was growing impatient as he started to shuffle around in his seat before he grabbed his cell phone and looked at Dave.

"I'm going to get Garcia to work some magic."

Dave nodded as he made himself comfortable.

"Babygirl I need your skills."

"I have been dreaming of the day when you would say those words to me, now if only you weren't stuck in Chicago I could show you how good my hands really are!"

Morgan laughed out loud as Dave sat there and rolled his eyes.

"Well maybe later my goddess but for now can we stick to those computer skills of yours?"

"Oh well I suppose so, how can I help you my smooth chocolate hunk?"

"Doctor Franchetti, we don't believe that she is the unsub but she knows more than she is letting on. Can you access her phone records and then see if she has made any calls after the counsellors spoke to her, any recurring numbers and also if she has made any calls in the last twenty minutes?"

"Next time ask me something that will make me sweat Derek, then maybe you will really see the benefits of my skills!"

"Goodbye sweetness!"

Morgan laughed as he put his cell back down and looked across at Dave who had a large grin on his face.

* * *

Emily and JJ were sitting in the conference room, the lights were on as the sun began to set and night drew in, neither said much as they were busy writing notes from their meeting with Vanessa's parents, until JJ sighed heavily and put her head into her hands as she spoke.

"They certainly knew how to pick the right victims. The parent's of these girls didn't have any idea about their lives, didn't care whether or not they were home as long as they were quiet and kept out of trouble."

"If the counsellors knew this information and it was passed on then it would certainly be an advantage."

JJ sighed again as she cast her eyes over the bullpen and saw that Hotch and Reid were walking towards them.

"I just hope that this ends soon."

"You and me both JJ."

* * *

Vanessa curled up on the mattress as she was left alone once again. She started to wonder if there was anybody actually looking for her, she knew that eventually her parent's would have to acknowledge that something was amiss but she doubted that they would be actively looking for her. Vanessa decided that the best course of action for the time being was to sit tight and comply with what her captors wanted her to do, which at the moment was to sleep and eat, far more caring than she had received from her parent's in a long time, even if that was combined with being locked in a dark room. Of course if the circumstances changed Vanessa knew that she would have to re-think but things were kind of good for her at the moment.

* * *

Hotch sat down next to JJ as Reid shuffled around to make himself a cup of coffee.

"Ok so we have got ourselves another missing girl, presumably because of what happened to Chloe. So we are looking for at least two people, probably one female. Chloe had suffered a miscarriage so they killed her, that means that they are keeping the babies, but is this for themselves or financial gain?"

Hotch looked around the room as Reid sat down and wrapped his long angular fingers around the cup.

"I think we have to look at a certain amount of religious belief of the unsubs, do they see abortion as wrong and therefore kidnap the girls to stop them killing the foetuses, that would explain why we have bodies of girls but not of their babies."

"After they have given birth the unsubs punish the mothers for wanting to kill their by babies by killing the mothers?"

Emily looked angrily at Reid as she spoke though her anger was not focused on him and luckily he knew it.

"I guess so Emily, but it is just a theory."

"The best one we've got at the moment so I think that we should run with it."

Hotch took a breath as he looked around at the tired expressions of his team.

"Ok let's get back to the hotel and get some sleep, I'll get a patrol unit to take over from Rossi and Morgan. We'll be better refocusing in the morning after we've had some rest."

Everyone nodded in agreement, their brains and bodies were starting to hurt and they knew that they wouldn't be any use at the moment.

* * *

Zoe lay on her bed staring up at her bedroom ceiling, she had gone straight up there after Emily had dropped her off, luckily her parent's had been at work and since they got home an hour ago they hadn't bothered to come up and see her which suited Zoe just fine. She knew that there was no way that she could have this baby that was rapidly growing inside her but the day's events had spooked her and the presence of the FBI outside the clinic only made her even more anxious. Clasped tight in her hand was the business card of Agent Emily Prentiss but Zoe didn't want to ring her, not just yet, she had to think about what her next step would be and then maybe she would ask for help.

* * *

Emily had stood under the shower for as long as her body could stand the heat without her skin wrinkling up, she hardly moved as she let the water cascade over her pale skin. Finally she turned the water off and reached out, grabbing a towel as she quickly dried herself off before she stepped out and quickly pulled on a pair of flannel pyjama bottoms and a grey cotton tank top. Emily's head was pounding as she flicked the television on looking for something mundane to watch and would hopefully send her off into a deep sleep as soon as possible but as she heard a knock on the door she knew that everything was working against her.

"Can I come in?"

JJ smiled softly as she stood aside, dressed in jogging bottoms and a baggy t-shirt, Emily nodded and stood aside to let her enter. Emily shut the door and went and sat next to JJ who had moved over and made herself comfortable on Emily's bed.

"I just wanted to check that you were ok, after everything with Zoe and then Vanessa's parents."

JJ spoke quietly, she could see that Emily was tired but she doubted that the brunette was getting much sleep.

"Yeah I'm good, hoping for some sleep and that soon we'll catch these guys."

JJ nodded as she looked over at the television.

"Top Chef?"

"I was looking for something to relax to."

"Good idea Em. She's going to be ok you know, Zoe I mean."

"But what Vanessa, who the hell knows what she is going through at the moment."

JJ stayed silent as she looked at her friend, the hurt evident in her eyes.

"Come on let's get some rest."

JJ moved to lay down on the bed and gestured for Emily to lay down beside her, relieved to see Emily smile and relax slightly as they let their minds drift off away from the case just for a few hours.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N - if there are any editing mistakes then sorry but got knocked off my bike this morning on the way to work and head is punding slightly so just posting this as it was written...

Chapter 11 –

Doctor Franchetti looked out of her window, darkness had long since descended as she decided that it was safe to leave the confines of her office. The visit by the FBI earlier had made her wary and instead of heading out to her normal meeting at the Church she stayed shut in her office pretending to catch up on all of her paperwork. As she turned the lights off she looked outside and was relieved to see that hers was one of the few left in the car park, her confidence slightly restored as she locked the office up and walked out to the car.

* * *

Garcia was sitting in her office, the lack of windows was quite beneficial as she had lost all track of time, fuelled by a combination of her own determination and caffeine, her fingers typed away furiously hoping to find the one small thing that would help the team find the unsub and bring them home safely. As she swivelled around, clutching her favourite pink pen, towards another monitor that was churning out results from her latest query, a loud beeping noise attracted her attention, quickly Garcia manoeuvred her way back to her main computer and brought up what had caused the alarm to sound.

"Oh good now we finally have something to work with."

* * *

Doctor Franchetti waited until she had driven away from the campus, taking her usual route home she reached for her cell phone. Knowing that it was a risk but she also knew that it was a risk she had to take as she listened to the ringing tone until finally she answered the phone.

"It's Julia, the FBI came to see me today. They don't know anything for certain and I've made sure that nothing can be trace to you."

Franchetti waited for the other woman to respond, it seemed to take ages but it was only a few seconds as she stopped at yet another set of lights.

"Good. Now don't phone me again, don't contact us. If I need anything I'll send Simon."

Her eyes were concentrated on the lights as they changed and she accelerated away but the line had gone dead anyway, the message received loud and clear, stay quiet and stay away.

* * *

Garcia squinted as she concentrated on the screen, finally Doctor Franchetti had made a move and had not only turned her cell phone on but had also made a call long enough that Garcia could track the number.

"Ok so let's see who the good doctor felt like calling at...goodness is that the time...1am?"

Garcia lifted up her pen and tucked it in her mouth, folding her bottom lip underneath it as she typed away, quickly finding out the location of the number the good doctor had phoned, after that she pulled all the information she could about the registered owner of the property.

* * *

Morgan was tossing and turning in the bed, his mind twisting and turning with the events of the day. He loved coming back to his home city, but here he was sleeping in some non-descript hotel room, just like any other case, some unsub was targeting his turf and he wanted to catch them as soon as possible so they didn't hurt anybody else, he wanted to protect his family, he knew that his sisters were vulnerable and heaven help him if anything ever happened to them. His dreams had turned into nightmares as he envisioned kicking in a door and shooting the unsub, only to find his sister Desiree barely conscious in the basement. As he suddenly sat up, sweat pouring down his naked chest, he scrunched up his face as he heard a noise, trying to concentrate as he regained his bearings eventually he realised what it was making the noise and grunted as he picked up his cell.

"Agent Morgan."

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine, did I wake you my favourite strong man?"

Morgan shifted his body on the bed, sitting up right as he listened to Garcia's unnervingly perky voice.

"It's the middle of the night babygirl, you woke me from my beauty sleep."

"I thought that a perfect specimen like you wouldn't need any beauty sleep!"

"Yeah yeah babygirl, flattery will get you everywhere, especially at 2am! So what has got you all guns blazing and phoning me at this unnatural hour?"

Garcia leant back in her chair, resting her feet up on the edge of her desk as she took a breath.

"Your friend, Doctor Julia Franchetti, finally decided to call someone. The call only lasted 90 seconds but it was a land line number registered to a Mary Davies. I've dug up some rather interesting information on her."

"Ok gorgeous I'd better get the others before you go any further, I'll ring you back in a few minutes after I've woken everyone up."

"Make sure you take them coffee, you know how grouchy they get without their sleep, especially Reid."

Morgan chuckled slightly as he put the phone down before he quickly pulled on a jumper and a pair of jeans and went about waking the rest of the team.

* * *

Simon walked down the stairs, carrying the tray carefully as he did, the food and drink had been precisely monitored so that it would give her the correct amount of nutrition that her and her baby would need. He didn't like this job, he didn't like the interaction with the, well he didn't quite know what to call them, mother called them guests, but he knew that that was just a fallacy as he was the one that had captured them. Nervously he unlocked the door and walked into the dark room, placing the tray on the floor beside the bed as his eyes locked with hers.

"It's all good, I made it myself. Eat it, it will do the both of you good."

Vanessa nodded as she looked at the man who was just a few years older than herself, she was hungry but waited until she was alone once again before she started to devour the food, unsure of when she would next have anything to eat or drink.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N – sorry for the delay in this story, I completely lost track and motivation but I am determined to finish this so thank you to everyone who is still reading!**

**Chapter 12 -**

Morgan held his door open as Emily sleepily walked in, she nodded at the rest of the team as she found some space on the floor, sitting with her back resting against the bed next to JJ. Hotch sat on the only chair in the room as he waited patiently for Morgan to open the laptop and set the link with Garcia running. A tired looking Garcia appeared, her hands cradling her pink mug as she waved quickly at them.

"Hey guys sorry about disturbing your beauty sleep but I thought that you would want to hear this ASAP. I have already sent the information to your iPads but here is a quick summary."

Garcia quickly put her mug down and moved closer so that she could read from the many screens in front of her.

"Mary Davies, aged 72, white, widowed, lived on the outskirts of Chicago near Woodridge. She has one son, Simon Davies who is 26 and according to his driver's licence lives with his mother. Mary was a regular church goer, attending the local Catholic Church until 40 months ago when she clashed with the priest over following the strict rules of the bible, it made the local paper as the argument became very vocal during one Sunday service. I checked and Doctor Franchetti also attended the same Church and probably agreed with the strict stance that Davies took. The son hasn't ever been employed, has no bank account and he also interested Children Services when he was younger due to concern shown by his teachers about some bruising on his body and his strict religious beliefs but nothing was done and he was pulled out of the school and taught at home instead."

Garcia paused as she took a sip of her coffee and looked at the screen where the team were pictured, smiling slightly as she saw Emily resting her tired head against JJ's shoulder.

"I also looked at the plans of the house, it is away from the road and has no near neighbours. I also has three floors and what looks like a basement, as I said I sent you the plans."

Hotch looked up from his iPad and looked at the laptop.

"Good work Garcia, go home and get some sleep."

"Ok boss man, take care all of you."

Garcia winked and blew a kiss at the screen and was immediately pleased to see everyone smiling back at her.

"What do you want to do, wait until morning?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow as he asked the question, his gaze firmly fixed on Hotch.

"It's dark Morgan and we haven't seen the house yet."

"I know that Hotch, but we've got the plans, I want this to end Hotch, sooner rather than later."

Hotch nodded as he turned to look at Dave who shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

"Ok then meet downstairs in ten. JJ can you ring the locals and let them know what is going on and arrange for them to meet us there, but no lights or sirens, we approach in silence."

"Of course Hotch."

JJ reached into her jeans pocket as Emily lifted her head from her friend's shoulder.

* * *

Emily climbed into the back of the second SUV, Dave sat in the driver's seat with JJ next to him as he started the engine and followed Morgan who was driving the other SUV. Emily looked out of the window, trying hard to compartmentalise everything as the street lights flashed past her face.

"You ok Prentiss?"

Dave glanced up in the mirror as he caught Emily's eye.

"Sure Dave, just tired, I'll be glad when this is all over."

"Not long now Emily, just a little bit longer."

Emily nodded her head as Dave spoke, she knew that she needed this to be over and she just hoped that it would end safely.

* * *

They stopped by the large conifer trees that hid the house from the road and gathered around the bonnet of Morgan's SUV as Hotch brought up the house plans on his iPad.

"Ok Morgan and I will go in the front, Dave and Reid go around the back. Emily and JJ I want you to watch this small entrance here."

Hotch pointed to a small door at the side of the house, to Emily it looked more like a hatch.

"It may lead to the basement but wait for my call to go in. The locals will provide back up, as soon as we stop outside the house hit the lights and sirens ok?"

Everybody nodded as they checked their weapons before getting back in the SUVs and sped towards the house.

* * *

JJ ran quickly, following Emily's footsteps as they were lit up by the bright headlights of the various vehicles, any sound was completely overwhelmed by the sirens until they suddenly fell silent and was replaced by the sound of crashing wood as Morgan kicked the front door in. Emily stood to one side of the hatch door, her heart pounding fast as she looked across at JJ who nodded that she was ok, they could hear movement within the house and it took all of Emily's willpower to wait.

"Help, someone, please help me!"

Emily's heart rate only increased as the anxious voice rang out from behind the door, she looked across at JJ.

"I'm going in."

"Emily wait!"

But it was too late, all JJ could do was watch as Emily barged the door open with her shoulder before she moved inside, into the pitch black.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 – **

"Shit!"

JJ muttered under her breath as she watched Emily venture inside.

"Fuck!"

JJ flicked her flashlight on as she raised her wrist and whispered into her communication link.

"Emily's gone into the basement, I'm going to follow."

"Morgan's got the son but we haven't found the mother, be careful."

JJ took a deep breath as she shone the light towards the small entrance where Emily had entered moments earlier.

"Help! Please!"

JJ turned her head sharply as the crying young voice rang out once again.

"I'm right behind you Emily."

JJ whispered down the corridor and heard the footsteps stop as she approached and gently plaved her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Ok where now?"

"The voice came from the right."

"Ok I'll cover you from behind."

JJ turned around, her gun and flashlight drawn as she allowed her back to touch Emily's, slowly they edged along the dark corridor, ten paces later Emily stopped her back pressed hard against JJ's.

"There's a door, hang on."

Emily moved slightly, keeping her weapon drawn she shone her light through the small glass pane, gasping slightly as she saw the terrified young teenager tied up, Emily quickly raised her finger to her lips hoping that the girl would take notice before she spoke to the team through her communication link.

"We've found the girl, she's tied up in a locked room in the basement."

"Can you get to her Prentiss?"

"Yes sir, the door's old, it shouldn't take too much force."

"Ok be careful we still haven't found the mother, Dave and Reid will be down with you shortly."

Emily took a breath as Hotch finished speaking, she looked all around her ensuring that it was safe.

"It's clear Em."

Emily nodded as she took a step back from the door, her hand dropped to her side before she lifted her right leg up and forcefully kicked the wooden door, causing it o swing open and crash against the concrete wall.

"I'm going in."

"I'll keep watch by the door."

Emily nodded as she holstered her weapon but she kept her flashlight shining as she approached the terrified girl.

"It's ok, we're FBI, I'm Emily. Keep still and I'll untie you."

Emily smiled softly as she bent down, holding the flashlight in her mouth as she wrestled with the rope around the girl's ankles and wrists. Two minutes later Emily helped the girl to stand up, wrapping her left arm around her waist as they walked towards the door and JJ.

"Come on let's get you outside."

"Hang on JJ, I hear footsteps."

Emily moved the girl behind herself and JJ as she drew her weapon once again, with both flashlight's shining a thin light it wasn't long before they hit and lit up a white figure.

"FBI, stop where you are!"

JJ shouted out as the woman approached them, a shotgun in her hand.

"Where is she? You can't take her, she's mine."

"She is nobody's, now put the gun down!"

As she finished speaking JJ glanced out of the corner of her eye, spotting Emily's finger resting on the trigger.

"She'll destroy him, she has no right!"

"Put the gun down Mary, she doesn't need to see this."

JJ spoke calmly as she old woman shook her head firmly raising the gun up higher so that it was pointed directly at JJ's head.

"Give her back to me!"

"Not a chance."

Emily mumbled the words, quiet enough for only JJ to hear before her finger pressed down on the trigger, once, twice, thrice before finally the old woman dropped to the floor.

* * *

"Emily! JJ!"

"Down here Dave, the unsub is down."

Emily called out as she kept her gun pointed down at the floor, she heard JJ turn around and grab a hold of the girl so Emily took a couple of careful steps towards the body, moving the shotgun away before she checked for a pulse, holstering her weapon once she was satisfied that Mary Davies was well and truly dead.

* * *

JJ walked away from the ambulance, shutting the door as she left, her heavy footsteps walking back to the SUV where Emily was leaning against the hood.

"Is Vanessa going to be ok?"

"Physically she is fine, despite the conditions you found her in they had kept her well fed and nourished."

"In order for them to keep the baby."

JJ nodded as she patted her friend on the shoulder.

"Are you ok?"

"I think so."

JJ nodded once again as she climbed into the driver's seat, waiting patiently as Emily climbed in beside her, Hotch and Morgan had already driven Simon Davies back to the police station while Reid and Rossi were checking the house, leaving JJ and Emily to head back to the police station, for JJ to prepare the press statement and Emily to get some answers from Simon.

* * *

Rossi walked first into the room, Reid following close behind carrying a cardboard box of evidence that he placed on the table. Rossi saw Emily sitting cradling a cup of coffee and he moved swiftly over and sat down beside her.

"So did he speak?"

"Not to me."

Emily kept her head bowed down as Dave looked around the table, his eyes eventually stopping on Morgan as he raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently Simon has a problem with women in authority, bullied relentlessly by his mother both physically and mentally he actually seemed relieved that she was dead."

"What about the babies, there wasn't any sign of them at the house and nothing to suggest as to where they had gone."

"According to Simon there was another woman at the Church who they worked with, she works in Children Services and helped get the babies legitimately into the system and adopted within weeks."

"Do we know her details."

"Yes the locals are going to pick her up now."

"So we're done?"

"Apart from the mountain of paperwork then yes we're done."

"That's good, maybe you can make good on that promise now Derek."

"Sounds good Dave, how about the rest of you, fancy a tour of my home town?"

Morgan grinned widely at everyone around the table as various heads began to nod, until finally he looked at Emily.

"Prentiss?"

Emily looked up and smiled, just as she was about to agree her cell began to ring, she looked at the display and took a deep breath.

"Sorry guys I've got to go and see someone, have a drink for me."

Emily didn't wait to hear any response, she put the phone to her ear and walked out of the room.

"Zoe?"

"Sorry Agent Prentiss, I didn't want to ring you but..."

"It's ok, I gave you my card for a reason. Do you want me to come and meet you?"

"Yes please."

Emily listened carefully as Zoe told her where she was waiting, she promised to be there shortly and was glad that the case was over so she could help the frightened teenager.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 –**

JJ quickly ran after Emily, catching up as Emily stood outside the police station.

"Is everything ok?"

Emily turned sharply, the voice surprising her.

"Oh yes, I just need to go and see Zoe. I think that she needs someone to talk to."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Emily shook her head.

"No thanks, I told Zoe that she shouldn't go through with it on her own, I guess that she didn't know who else to ask."

"Ok well take the SUV and I'll let you know when we are going to leave."

Emily gratefully accepted the keys from JJ and smiled at her friend.

"Thanks, I shouldn't really be getting this involved but I just couldn't let her go through this alone.

"I understand Em, so does everybody else, now go."

Emily nodded as she climbed into the SUV and waved JJ goodbye.

* * *

Emily parked the SUV and walked into the coffee shop, it was just after 2pm so the lunch time rush had dissipated and there were only a couple of other people in the shop so it didn't take long for Emily to spot Zoe and she quickly moved to sit down opposite the teenager.

"Thanks for coming."

"It's ok, the case has finished."

"Yes I saw the news this morning."

Emily nodded as she reached across and took a hold of one of Zoe's hands.

"When's your appointment?"

"This afternoon."

"Have you talked to anyone?"

"Only the counsellor at the clinic."

Emily nodded as she took a breath, she couldn't help but draw comparisons between Zoe and her 15 year old self.

"Ok come on then, we'll do this together."

"Thank you Agent Prentiss."

"Zoe please it's Emily."

Emily smiled as she stood up and waited for Zoe.

"Ok then, thank you Emily."

"It's ok Zoe, there's no way I could let you go through this alone."

Emily placed her hand on the small of Zoe's back, slowly the two of them walked out of the coffee shop.

* * *

Emily had a hold of Zoe's hand as the teenager lay on the bed, she smiled gently as she softly brushed a stray tear away from Zoe's eye.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Good, now close your eyes Zoe I'm not going anywhere."

Emily kept a hold of Zoe's hand as she watched the teenager's eyes close.

* * *

Emily stopped the SUV outside the large suburban house, she glanced across to the passenger seat and gently shook Zoe's shoulder.

"We're here sweetie."

Zoe slowly opened her eyes and stretched out but then winced in discomfort.

"Do you want me to come in with you?"

Emily looked seriously at the girl, unsure about leaving her so soon afterwards.

"They'll just ask questions, I'll just slip in and go up to my room."

"Ok but remember what the doctor said?"

"Yes and Emily thank you so much."

Zoe suddenly leant forward and hugged Emily, surprising the older woman.

"You take care Zoe and you have my number if you need to talk right?"

Zoe nodded as she let go and picked up her bag.

"I'd better go."

"Take care Zoe."

"You too Emily."

* * *

Emily was about to pull away from Zoe's house when her cell began to ring, her mind trying desperately to compartmentalise everything, she didn't even look at the display before she answered.

"Agent Prentiss."

"It's JJ, how are things?"

"I've just dropped Zoe off at home and was about to head back to the hotel."

"And you?"

"I just want to get home JJ."

"Well that was what I was ringing about, the jet is going to leave in an hour."

Emily took a deep breath as she tried to stop her mind from spinning.

"Ok I'll go and pick my bag up and meet you there."

"See you soon Emily."

Emily put the phone back into her jeans pocket as she started the engine and headed back towards the hotel.

* * *

In a way Emily was glad that she was the first to arrive at teh jet. After passing her bag to be loaded Emily wearily climbed up the steps and headed to the back, making herself comfortable before she shut her eyes.

JJ smiled as she walked down the aisle, gesturing to the others to leave the brunette alone before she slid in the seat next to Emily.

"We're about to take off Em you need your belt on!"

Emily opened one of her eyes and looked at JJ.

"Ok ok!"

Emily quickly reached around and done her belt up before she rested her head against the back of the seat and stared up at the ceiling.

"How are you holding up?"

"Ok I guess, it was difficult but I'm glad I was able to help."

Emily shut her eyes as the engines got louder and the plane sped along the runway.

"Emily you need to realise that not everything can fit into those little boxes of yours, sometimes you need to let it out."

Emily sighed heavily as she opened her eyes, turning her head slightly so that she faced JJ.

"I'm getting that JJ."

"And I'm always here to listen."

"Thanks JJ."

"Don't worry you've listened to plenty of my problems! Shut your eyes Em you look like you need some sleep."

"I can't disagree there JJ."

Emily smiled as she shut her eyes once again, her mind slowly calming down as she gradually left all the memories down on the ground in Chicago and now as the jet soared through the sky it was time for a fresh start.

Finis.


End file.
